Parliament’s Presiding Officers, the Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Mr Amos Masondo, call on South Africans to use today’s National Reconciliation Day to reflect, renew and recommit to building a prosperous society based on the noble values of unity, peace, and cohesion.
On 16 December 1995, the founding father of democratic South Africa, Tata Nelson Mandela, took a bold step towards healing our oppressive and divided past when he named this day National Reconciliation Day. The move signalled a commitment to developing a state based on human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism, the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
The Presiding Officers said, “As we commemorate this day, we dare not fail the dreams and aspirations of our forebears of a united, non-racial society, free from social ills. This we will do through upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution – that South Africa belongs to all who live in it.”
Pre-democracy, 16 December had two distinct meanings for South Africa’s population. To the Afrikaner, it was a celebration of the Voortrekkers’ conquest over the Zulu armies at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. For the black majority, however, it was a symbol of protest for the right to vote and against racial discrimination. After democracy, Tata Mandela and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission carefully selected this date with the purpose of fostering reconciliation and national unity.
Reconciliation, the Presiding Officers added, requires the correction of past injustices. “Parliament commits to continuously use all the legislative tools at our disposal to eradicate all forms of injustices and dismantle any penchant that seeks to divide the gains of our hard-earned democracy and threaten nation-building, development and prosperity of the people.”
Our past lessons must be used to forge new hope for the country. The Day of Reconciliation is a call for people from all walks of life to build a united nation for future generations to inherit a truly better life. As citizens of this country, “It is incumbent on every one of us,” the Presiding Officers concluded, “to recommit to the ideals of peace and racial harmony in all we do. We must hand over a non-racial, inclusive and a united South Africa to the next generation”.
As we commemorate this day, all South Africans are asked to renew their commitment to the ideals of human dignity and equality.
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Moloto Mothapo
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